1 2 IN-SIGHT PUBLISHING Published by In-Sight Publishing In-Sight Publishing Langley, British Columbia, Canada in-sightjournal.com First published in parts by Humanist Voices (Young Humanists International, formerly International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organisation) Not a member of In-Sight Publishing, 2017-2019 This edition published in 2019 © 2012-2019 by Scott Douglas Jacobsen. Original appearance in Humanist Voices. All rights reserved. No parts of this collection may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized, in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented or created, which includes photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Published in Canada by In-Sight Publishing, British Columbia, Canada, 2019 Distributed by In-Sight Publishing, Langley, British Columbia, Canada In-Sight Publishing was established in 2014 as a not-for-profit alternative to the large, commercial publishing houses currently dominating the publishing industry. In-Sight Publishing operates in independent and public interests rather than for private gains, and is committed to publishing, in innovative ways, ways of community, cultural, educational, moral, personal, and social value that are often deemed insufficiently profitable. Thank you for the download of this e-book, your effort, interest, and time support independent publishing purposed for the encouragement of academic freedom, creativity, diverse voices, and independent thought. Cataloguing-in-Publication Data No official catalogue record for this book. Jacobsen, Scott Douglas, Author Humanist Voices: Collection I/Scott Douglas Jacobsen pages cm Includes bibliographic references, footnotes, and reference style listing. In-Sight Publishing, Langley, British Columbia, Canada Published electronically from In-Sight Publishing in Langley, British Columbia, Canada 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Designed by Scott Douglas Jacobsen 3 Contents I Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 5 i An Interview with Anya Overmann, Communications Officer of IHEYO .................. 6 ii An Interview with James Croft, Leader of The Ethical Society of St. Louis ............. 10 iii An Interview with Wade Kaardal, Chairperson of the Asian Working Group for IHEYO .................................................................................................................. 12 iv 2030’s Planet 50–50 .................................................................................................... 15 v Practice What You Preach: ‘The Global Gag’ as Moral Reflection ........................... 16 vi Humanism in Lagos .................................................................................................... 18 vii Can You Be a Humanist Without Being a Feminist? ................................................. 20 viii Interview with Marieke Prien-President of the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization (IHEYO)- ................................................................................... 22 ix ‘The gods have not returned; they have never left us; they have not returned’ .......... 25 x An Interview with Bwambale M. Robert — School Director, Kasese Humanist Primary School ............................................................................................................ 27 xi Big Humanism and Small Humanism ......................................................................... 31 xii 61st Commission on the Status of Women ................................................................. 33 xiii An Interview with Julia Julstrom-Agoyo — Secretary & Treasurer of Americas Working Group of IHEYO ......................................................................................... 34 xiv Catholic Pope Affirms Need for Humanism in Europe .............................................. 38 xv An Interview with Yvan Dheur ................................................................................... 40 xvi An Interview with Danielle Erika Hill ........................................................................ 44 xvii Peshawar, Humanism, Poets, and Coming Together .................................................. 49 xviii An Interview with Ariel Pontes — Chair, Americas Working Group, IHEYO ........... 51 xix Evolution vs. Creationism via “Scientific American” E-Book ................................... 53 xx An Interview with Emily Newman — Communications Coordinator at American Ethical Union .............................................................................................................. 55 xxi Exclusive Interview with Stephanie Guttormson - Operations Director for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science ............................................................ 57 xxii Brazil’s austerity affects all Brazilians — but not its leaders ...................................... 61 xxiii An Interview with George Ongere .............................................................................. 63 xxiv An Interview with Ray Zhong — Translator, Amsterdam Declaration ....................... 70 xxv A Brief Note on the Vital Need for Humanist Voices ................................................ 73 xxvi Q&A on International Youth Humanism with Marieke Prien — Session 1 ................ 74 4 xxvii An Interview with Nabina Maharjan — Secretary/Youth Advisor, Society for Humanism Nepal ........................................................................................................ 77 xxviii Q&A on International Youth Humanism with Marieke Prien — Session 2 ................. 80 xxix An Interview with Amjad Sattar ................................................................................. 83 xxx An Interview with Dr. Leo Igwe — Founder, Nigerian Humanist Movement ............ 84 xxxi Conversation on Humanism, Irreligiosity, and Education in Nigeria with Dr. Leo Igwe — Session 1 ......................................................................................................... 91 xxxii An Interview with Houzan Mahmoud — Co-Founder, Culture Project ...................... 94 xxxiii An Interview with Chris Worfolk — Founder, Leeds Atheist Society ........................ 98 II License and Copyright .......................................................................................................... 101 5 Acknowledgements For the collaborations of some of the following and the interviews with others in the past couple of years, thank you for the opportunity to learn some techniques and stylistic aspects of writing from you, these include Anya Overmann, James Croft, Wade Kaardal, Julia Julstrom-Agoyo, Bamidele Adeneye, Marieke Prien, Bwambale M. Robert, Julia Julstrom-Agoyo, Yvan Dheur, Danielle Erika Hill, Ariel Pontes, Emily Newman, Stephanie Guttormson, Pamela Machado, George Ongere, Ray Zhong, Nabina Maharjan, Amjad Sattar, Leo Igwe, Houzan Mahmoud, and Chris Worfolk.. I feel happy and appreciative to contribute to Humanist Voices. Scott 6 An Interview with Anya Overmann, Communications Officer of IHEYO February 15, 2017 Scott Douglas Jacobsen *This interview has been mildly edited for clarity and readability.* Tell us about yourself — family background, culture, first language, and religious/humanist background. I was born and raised in St. Louis. My parents were raised Catholic. Independently, they decided Catholicism and Christianity were not for them. They didn’t want to follow that any further. When they had kids, my brother and I, they realized that they did want us to have a religious education, but not necessarily in a Christian context. We found the Ethical Society in St. Louis. We learned about the different religions and the core values of ethical humanism. That is what had me ‘hooked’ — the core values. I believed in them. I thought they were good principles. As I got older, I became more involved with it. I took on leadership roles at every stage. That’s my background. My parents are still members. They attend regularly. They have a role at the local ethical society. English is my first and only language. I can speak some Spanish, but that’s from speaking Spanish in school. When did you find IHEYO? I found it a couple of years ago. FES, the Future of Ethical Societies, is the group that I was a part of. The connection to IHEYO grew from the national level of FES. At IHEYO, I applied to be the social media manager. Over time, that evolved into communications officer. Now, I am managing the social media and the blog. All outreach for humanists between the ages of 18 and 35. Any demographic(s) analyses of humanist youth? A lot of our humanist activity is in Europe. That’s not that surprising. (Laugh) Right. There’s a lot of different organizations there. That’s where the funding comes from. What I found with our social media is a large number of people from Pakistan, India, and Nepal are active in following our page and reading our content, I found that interesting. Anyone from Bangladesh? There are quite a few from that region, specifically. Western Asia and the Middle East are becoming more active. They are up and coming. So, what are some tasks and responsibilities that come along with being the social media person and communications manager? I try to keep our presence active. It can be difficult. It is a volunteer role. I do what I can with the time that I have each day. I try to make the content diverse.